ZIRIDAVA STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA 31 2017 MUSEUM OF ARAD ZIRIDAVA STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA 31 2017 Editura MEGA Cluj‑Napoca 2017 MUSEUM OF ARAD EDITORIAL BOARD Editor‑in‑chief: Peter Hügel. Editorial Assistants: Florin Mărginean, Victor Sava. EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD V. Bârcă (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), M. Cârciumaru (Târgoviște, Romania), S. Cociş (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), F. Gogâltan (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), S. A. Luca (Sibiu, Romania), V. Kulcsár (Szeged, Hungary), M. Takács (Budapest, Hungary), J. O'Shea (Michigan, USA), K. Z. Pinter (Sibiu, Romania), I. Stanciu (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), I. Szatmári (Békéscsaba, Hungary). In Romania, the periodical can be obtained through subscription or exchange, sent as post shipment, from Museum of Arad, Arad, Piata G. Enescu 1, 310131, Romania. Tel. 0040–257–281847. ZIRIDAVA STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA Any correspondence will be sent to the editor: Museum of Arad Piata George Enescu 1, 310131 Arad, RO e‑mail: [email protected] The content of the papers totally involve the responsibility of the authors. Layout: Francisc Baja, Florin Mărginean, Victor Sava ISSN 2392–8786 Editura Mega | www.edituramega.ro e‑mail: [email protected] Contents Octavian Cristian Rogozea Discoveries Attributed to the Early Vinča Phase in Tărtăria “Gura Luncii” (Alba County). The 214 Preventive Archaeological Researches Performed on “Site 10B” 7 Georgeta El Susi Animal Bones from the Neolithic (Szakálhát) Levels at Uivar (Timiş County) 29 Victor Sava, Florin Mărginean, Adrian Ursuţiu The Eneolithic Cemetery in Pecica “Est” (Arad County) 55 Tünde Horváth Budakalász, ein besonderer Bestattungsplatz der Badener Kultur. Kritische Anmerkungen zum Buch: Mária Bondár – Pál Raczky (Red.): The Copper Age cemetery of Budakalász 69 Tobias L. Kienlin, Klára P. Fischl, Liviu Marta Exploring Divergent Trajectories in Bronze Age Landscapes: Tell Settlement in the Hungarian Borsod Plain and the Romanian Ier Valley 93 Călin Ghemiș The Late Bronze Age Gold Ring Discovered in Betfia (Bihor County, Romania) 129 Liliana Daniela Mateescu-Suciu Glass Recipients from Sarmizegetusa Regia. Unguentaria and Bottles 137 Horațiu Cociș The Rural Landscape of the Frontier of Dacia Porolissensis. A Case Study: the Northern Sector – territorium Arcoba(da)rense – The Valley of River Someșul Mare 153 Norbert Kapcsos Sarmatian graves from Pecica Site 18. Remarks upon the phenomenon of „isolated” graves from the Cris‑Tisa‑Mures region 165 Ioan Stanciu On Early Medieval Roasting Trays and their Presence in the Settlements from the North‑Western Part of Romania 181 Călin Cosma, Adrian Bolog, Ovidiu Oargă Avar Graves Recently Discovered in Gâmbaș (Alba County) on the Spot Called “Ogoarele de jos” 195 Dan Băcueț-Crișan, Gruia Fazecaș, Doru Marta An Early Medieval Feature Discovered in Oradea – Salca “Ghețărie” (Petrom Gas Station) 215 Daniela Tănase, Gábor Bertók, Anita Kocsis, Balázs Major The location of Egres Cistercian monastery – Igriş (Timiș County), in the light of recent geophysical research 229 Florin Mărginean, Zsolt Csók, Keve László, Victor Sava Unveiling History. Archaeological Excavations in the Fortress of Ineu (Arad County) 241 Dorel Micle, Bogdan Alin Craiovan, Andrei Stavilă, Octavian-Cristian Rogozea The Times before Fischer’s Furniture Store. The Preventive Archaeological Researches in Sfântul Gheorghe Square 2–3, Timișoara (Timiş County) 279 Andrea Demjén, Florin Gogâltan The Ciuc‑Ghimeș Quarantine (18th–19th Centuries). Archaeological Researches of the Former Customs Point “Cetatea Rákóczy” 301 Abbreviations 325 Sarmatian graves from Pecica Site 18. Remarks upon the phenomenon of „isolated” graves from the Cris‑Tisa‑Mures region* Norbert Kapcsos Abstract: The article discusses the issue of “isolated” graves inside settlements mirrored by the more recent funerary discoveries from the Arad‑Nădlac A1 highway sector. The two analyzed graves (Grave 1, Grave 2) from the site of Pecica–18 can be dated between the third century and the end of the third‑beginning of the 4th century on the basis of analogies for the Omega‑type fibula. The relation of the graves with the structure of the settlement though has raised certain questions during the excavations and the present article attempts to provide answers. Keywords: burial rite, Omega brooch, Lower Mureș valley, Sarmatians. In the last decade the role of large infrastructural investments became apparently decisive for archaeological topographical surveys aiming to locate archaeological sites1. Rescue excavations cov‑ ering large areas prior to construction work increased the number of registered archaeological sites, and the amount of collected archaeological materials waiting to be processed, which are currently being stored in the Arad County Museum2. There are also many sites from the Roman period con‑ cerned here. The present paper outlines the result of archaeological investigations carried out in 2011 along the A1 motorway in Co. Arad. From this region, there were relatively few publications since the works of Egon Dörner and Peter Hügel were published3. Thus, materials discussed in the paper are significant since they provide new data on the Roman period archaeology of the lower catchment of the River Mureș. The site. The Pecica–18 site is situated 3,5 kms east of Pecica (hu. Pécska), along the A1 motorway, between Arad and Nădlac (hu. Nagylak), i.e.between the 0+200 and 30+600 kilometer signs (Pl. 1/1). There were altogether 238 features found within an area of 35700 2m , predominantly dating from the Sarmatian period (235 features), except for two Late Bronze Age pits and one grave from the 10th–11th centuries4. An accurate geographical and hydrological characterization of the area is already available thanks to Florin Mărginean, who discussed a 10th–11th centuries single grave5. Geographically, the site is situ‑ ated at the margins of the Great Hungarian Plain (i.e. the Pannon basin), on the floodplain of the lower catchment of the Mureș valley, to the north of the river. According to satellite data and the 1st and the 2nd Military Surveys, the site is situated in a lowland area of the plain, segmented by oxbow lakes and subsidiary branches of the Mureș River6 (Fig. 1). Hydrological processes – similarly to the catchment area of the Tisa7 – are characterized by sea‑ sonal floods caused by snowmelt and increased precipitation during spring and autumn. Flooded and * English translation: László Ferenczi, Ana M. Gruia. 1 Hügel et al. 2012, 27–29. 2 Mărginean, Andreica 2013, 321. 3 See publications from recent years: Bârcă, Cociș 2013; Bârcă 2014; Bârcă 2016; Grumeza et al. 2013; Grumeza 2014; Kapcsos 2014; Mărginean, Băcueţ‑Crişan 2015; Sava, Matei 2013. 4 Sit 18 Autostrada Nădlac‑Arad, Lot 2, Km 22+200 – 39+408, (oraşul Pecica, judeţul Arad). Raport de cercetare arheologică preventivă. Arad 2011 (manuscript). 5 Mărginean, Andreica 2013, 322. 6 Mărginean, Andreica 2013, 322–323. 7 Kőhegyi 1972, 110. ZIRIDAVA, STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA, 31, p. 165–180 166 ◆ Norbert Kapcsos water‑locked areas may be relieved only in the summer season, when water dries up, however, arheic areas remain usually marshlands8. Description of archaeological features: Graves Grave 1 (Cx_227a) (Pl. 2). Orientation: N‑S, 182 °; Length: 2,50m; Width: 0,85m; Depth: 0,11m9. The grave is situated at the western perimeters of the Sarmatian settlement (Pl. 1/1). After scraping the area, the vague outline of the amorphic grave started to appear. There was no sign of disturbance. It was an elongated oval shaped pit‑grave, with straight walls and flat base. The pitfill Fig. 1. After Mărginean‑Andreica 2013, Fig. 1. was yellowish brown, clayey soil, but more mixed and rather greyish brown in the southern part. To the south, the grave cut pit Cx_227b. The burial was an inhumation. The machine has accidentally removed the bones of the skeleton, so their exact position could not be assessed. The skeleton was laid on its back, in extended position (?), the preservation of the bones is poor. Two fragments from the skull, the two femoral bones and the right pelvis were preserved. The stature, age and sex of the individual could not be assessed. Grave 2 (Cx_231) (Pl. 3). Orientation: N‑S, 354 °; Length: 1,40m; Width: 0,58m; Depth: 0,10m. The grave was situated at the western perimeters of the Sarmatian settlement (Pl. 1/1). After scraping the area, the oval, elongated shape of the grave was clearly visible. There was no sign of disturbance. The shape of the grave is elongated‑oval, its walls are straight, and its base is flat. The fill was yel‑ lowish brown clayey silt. The burial was an inhumation. The bones were disturbed by machine digging, so their original positions are uncertain. The skeleton was laid on its back, in extended position (?), the preservation of the bones is poor. Part of the skull, two femurs, the two upper arm bones (humerus) and the right pelvis were preserved. The stature, age and sex of the individual could not be assessed. Grave finds Penannular (omega) brooch (Pl. 4/1) Diameters: hoop: 4,9 cm; wire: 0,36 cm; pin: 0,29 cm; Length of the pin: 5,53 cm. The brooch was originally under the skull (?). It was bent from a bronze wire, ter‑ minals are flattened and coiled at each end. The locking pin has a tapered end, the body has an omega shape (Cociş Type 28a4). Vessel (Pl. 4/2); Diameter (mouth): 10 cm; Diameter (base) 8,2 cm; Height: 20 cm. While using the machine to remove the topsoil, the vessel was hit, and moved from its original position. A piece of it was found at the southern end of the grave, and another one next to the left femur, however, most of its pieces were collected from the backdirt piled up by the machine. It was not wheel‑thrown, but hand‑made. It has a slightly everted rim, indented with some tool. The elongated shape of the body of the vessel is slightly wider at the shoulders. The texture of the clay is gritty, tempered with sand and crushed pebbles.